Well known correlations exist between the amount of physical exercise an individual engages in and that individual's mental and physical health. Statistical data indicates that upwards of two million people die each year from causes that are attributable to a lack of sufficient physical exercise. Additionally, well known correlations exist between an individual's level of motivation to remain physically active and the amount of physical exercise they actually perform. Thus, devices that aid in maintaining or increasing an individual's motivation to engage in physical exercise are often used in conjunction with an individual's exercise regiment.
Music can act as a means of motivation to continue physical exercise, and it can aid the user in ignoring any physical discomfort the user may be experiencing while they exercise. Consequently, portable music devices have often been incorporated by users into their exercise regiment. While such portable music devices have traditionally been smaller versions of home entertainment devices, such as radios, cassette players and compact disk players, modern portable music devices are increasingly digital computing devices designed to decode music, or other audio/visual entertainment based on digital formats. Such devices often include capabilities beyond merely decoding audio/visual content, such as the ability to execute other computer-readable instructions, display photographs, play games or engage in wireless communication, including cellular telephony.
Because modern portable music devices can execute other computer-readable instructions, the motivation a user receives from the music they are listening to can be tailored to aid the user in achieving predetermined exercise goals. For example, as described in co-pending U.S. Patent Application No. 2007/00113725A1, which is assigned to the assignee of the present application, a user's heart rate during exercise can be monitored and, if the user's heart rate deviates from a target heart rate, the music played by the portable music device can be selected such that it either encourages the user to increase or decrease their exercise effort so as to reach their target heart rate.